The Special Antlerless Season...

The Special Antlerless Season is December 26, 2013 through January 5, 2014


Counties able to be hunted for the 2013/2014 late antlerless season are: Allen, Bartholomew, Boone, Brown, Cass, Clark, Clay, Crawford, Dearborn, Dekalb, Delaware, Dubois, Elkhart, Fayette, Floyd, Fountain, Franklin, Fulton, Gibson, Grant, Hamilton, Harrison, Hendricks, Henry, Howard, Huntington, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jennings, Johnson, Knox, Kosciusko, Lagrange, Lake, Laporte, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Miami, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Newton, Noble, Ohio, Orange, Owen, Parke, Porter, Pulaski, Putnam, Ripley, Saint Joseph, Scott, Spencer, Starke, Steuben, Sullivan, Switzerland, Tippecanoe, Vanderburgh, Vermillion, Vigo, Warren, Warrick, Washington, Wayne, and White.

Thanks for sharing! I was going to look this up!

Dont participate !! Save whats left our our deer herd.... the over abundance and the lack of reserve by some is leading us to a huge herd population decline....buck kills have drastically dropped and the antlerless kill has sky rocketed, combine that with some counties hit by massive EHD die off's the herd is declining and the over use of these tags are leading us farther down the road... yes, I'm serious....save a Doe, save the herd....the DNR is at fault by the issuance of these tags and hunters are buying into it, its all about money and killing off the deer due to influence from insurance lobbyists and farm groups.....Last year, Chad Stewart(our wonderful Head Deer Biologist...cough!cough!) stated the dropping buck kill shows our herd is in decline. It has been dropping for several years now...That OBR is sure saving some bucks 'eh...NOT !! I feel it is worse in many areas than the DNR knows or will admit to....so do the herd a favor and dont participate .....

yes, I won't participate this year

I let them all walk this year..

Save the deer!

Thanks for the post brew!

Numbers were down a few years ago in Washington County where I hunt and had slowly been getting better, but we had a local farmer get some depredation tags this past Summer (and supposedly he killed 8-10 does) so we weren't expecting good hunting this fall.

But...the opposite occurred. We all saw good amounts of does, several young bucks and a couple of good mature bucks. No one shot a buck this year and opening day of gun season I let a mature 130's class 8 pointer walk because I have as good or better on the wall and didn't see the point of taking him.

So I can't speak for other areas, but my section of Washington County seemed to be in good shape this year.

We killed 8 deer off our 140 acres this year 4 being bucks 2 of those being my 2 nephews first buck ever. The last day I hunted when we had the snow I had 11 does within 40 yds and more over the ridge. I say if you want to hunt don't be influenced by the guys who don't see deer. Our deer herd is striving!

With that said my nephew will be hunting tomorrow in hopes of bagging one more for their freezer. Good luck to him!

Jeff, I think the OBR did save some bucks but when the doe population decreases, so does the number of bucks walking around. Our 100 acres has not been hunted since the end of early archery and won't be hunted until next year. The guy who lives the next road over texted yesterday and said he and his wife counted 63 deer in our corn field xmas eve evening. Sounds great, but, that number used to be over 100 typically. Our lease in Jefferson, three tracks of land totaling nearly 500 acres, hasn't been hunted since the first Sunday in muzzleloader and would now be considered a baited area so hunting is over. Everything for the last few weeks has been targeted at saving deer.

Can't wait to get back out there. :^)

Come up north and you wont see deer in any fields...Esp. here in NW Indiana.....2 different worlds once you get north of Indy...you know that.....
2010 antlered Deer kill 53K
antlerless deer kill 81K

2012 antlered deer kill 46K
antlerless deer kill 90K

2010 Porter County antlered 563
antlerless 1002

2012 Porter County antlered 443
antlerless 1199
down 120 bucks
cant tell me the herd isnt in decline.....
others across the state have noticed it also

I hate to see this years numbers

Fortunately, I do not have to contend with that here. Hopefully the shooting is over for the year.

I need one more doe. Can't decide on Parke or Jackson county??? Probably be Parke.

Ive looked at property down in Parke(lease 240 acres)....wonderful land !! Did Shades back when it was archery...I just wish it wasnt such a long drive.....two different worlds....Parke vs Porter Co......Parke is what I imagine deer hunting to be....I dont want to see another human or dwelling ....BTW, consider Porter county a possible 12 antlerless county (if you include the urban zone)

We as hunters are suppose to be conservationists....conservation: to use, but to use wisely ....I wonder if Stewart believes that motto?....As Ive always said there are areas with an abundance of Does/deer that need hit hard, our Parks, preserves, certain urban areas.
The blanket "kill as many does as possible" just isnt cutting it in many locations....I want deer hunters to wise up...is that to much to ask for? ...

You wont see another human all of bow season in Parke Co (its an hour and forty five min drive for me), but as soon as shotgun opens up there is a truck in every woodlot and field edge. Its night and day out there come shotgun opener!

its night and day everywhere in the state come shotgun. API you think our herd is striving?? there are small pockets around the state with good deer numbers period. our herd is getting the **** kicked out of it. hard to believe that people actually think our herd is striving..gimme a break

+1 EXACTLY....

+1 same thing on public land

I would just assume hunt bow season only.

+2

I just bow hunted. I let the does walk..

Luke is still looking for his first deer of the year. We will be out there for the antlerless season. On the 2 properties we hunt only 1 deer has been taken off it by us.

I am only buck hunting still and will be out w/ the bow just in case.

At what point...if any will the dnr start backing off bonus tags....cutting a county with 8 to 4 dosnt cut it........will the late season antlerless ever go away, what about a whole county that is urban and it dosnt need to be....Will the DNR back off when the kill drops 20% below it's high....25% ? ......or will they continue the high antlerless tags until it is to late for some areas.... If tags are available, some hunters will purchase and continue to kill the last deer in their little woodlot....be dammed the neighbors.......

Parke, I meant our herd on our 140 acres. Although another farm I got permission to hunt I took my oldest daughter there 2 days with a crossbow. In the 2 days we saw 23 does so I would say that herd is ok. That's the same place my youngest daughter took her first deer from I think we saw 12 when I took her. I believe we would have seen more but had standing corn all around us. That farm is in East Enterprise where EHD was said to hit hard this year.

Everyone I have spoken to has seen normal numbers of deer. I saw deer just about every time I went. I killed 3 and guided children on 3 successful hunts so I'm not sure what you are basing this on but you won't convince me that the statewide deer herd is hurting to bad.

api,i live fairly close to east enterprise,right close to the jeff-switerland line and all the guys i talk to and myself included have not see the numbers as yrs.past. i`m bettin your seein the same deer,more that once.

They are striving. Striving to survive. I think he meant thriving, just for anyone else jumping in mid thread.

Nice catch .....

That was a nice catch Cody and I was the one who started that crap lol!

trophyhunter, I hunt 2 farms in moorefield and didn't have any trouble seeing deer there either. A guy I work with owns a farm about 3/4 mile from the farms I hunt and he was covered up in deer all season except for 4 days I think he said. I think he found 5 dead from EHD on his place. I will say I didn't see the numbers that I normally have in the past but we didn't have any acorns either.

Anyways I'm done arguing about this topic I think Indiana does a good job with the herd and if they change it then they change it and if they don't they don't!

I was wondering what the deer were striving to be? LMAO

Well, Parke it is. We saw about the same number of deer in Parke this year and more in Jackson and Washington than the past.

Bonus tags and extra opportunities won't go down substantially until the harvest goes down substantially. I am guessing a 10-20% decline in harvest over 3 years will do it. And it has to be based on objective data not anecdotal perceptions. You can't manage based on perception.

The best data we have is harvest stats. The smallest area we have data for is a county. Counties can be very large and local herds can vary greatly inside that large area. Government is notorious for slow reaction times. Do not be surprised that, even when data supports a decrease in opportunities, they are slow to reduce them.

Most deer hunters will not kill more than 2 deer per year. Less than 5% kill 3 or more.

Shoot all the does you want as Brew continues to advertise this DNR "over the top" deer reduction opportunity. The sooner we get "bottom of the barrel" low in deer #'s.....the sooner and more VERY LOUD complaining from deer hunters will come flooding in.......and the sooner and more confident approach the IDNR will take and have "grounds to stand on" as they shorten our gun seasons to help "medicate" the issue of complaints.

The sad part of this is........as we were headed towards lower #'s anyways with either Prop #1 or Prop# 2.......at least Prop # 1 considered having more Quality Deer left in the field to hunt with that approach. Pretty cool how the IDNR's first choice was to still want to retain Quality or even enhance it as the #'s started to fall to help keep sportsmen interested in deer hunting.......but "Joe Six Pack" hunter voted that well thought out plan off the table, and just thought about "themselves" and "today".......and in turn sacrificed a pretty cool plan the IDNR still calls their "first choice" known as Prop #1.

Prepare to circle back to that Prop # 1 gang....."joe six pack's" plan is backfiring "Big Time" ......and hunters are getting sick of what they are seeing already.

Don't write Chad Stewart and complain.....write your Legislators!!! Do it now as how this season is still fresh on your minds. Alot of us up North have already started these letters of complaint....and from the responses we are getting....we are NOT the minority any more.

Time to "pile on" and let your Legislators know we are Fed Up with goofball deer reduction plans forced upon our IDNR. Second choices they are forced into are NEVER as good as well thought out First Choices they had and wanted to roll out.

Keep encouraging/advertising the killing of doe opps we have Brew..... You are the perfect "horn".....no pun intended. LOL...

Write your Legislators gang......tell them your sick of this.....and roll back those guns....

I think I'll wait 'til after the stats come in. Every year this same topic comes up. And for the past 5 years or so, the stats don't confirm the perception.

Sightings down for me all year and on cameras in Northern Washington Co.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Jeff Valovich:
[QB] Come up north and you wont see deer in any fields...Esp. here in NW Indiana.....2 different worlds once you get north of Indy...you know that.....
I'm sorry this is simply not true I live in Porter county not far from where u hunt. I c deer almost every afternoon. My good friends own 60 acres and have taken 5 deer off their property and have seen deer every time out. I will agree that there has been some reduction in the numbers but not the picture that you paint. There are still multiple deer/collisions in this area. In addition the NP and State Park are deer breeding grounds throw in all the prime private ground that no one hunts and there's plenty of deer reproduction. Do u really think there are people killing 12 does? I know a lot of people that hunt and no one has taking more then 3 or 4. Not saying no didn't shoot 12 but that would b an exception not a norm.

One of the reasons I like this anterless season is it's another opportunity to take the kids out. Kids r on Christmas break and the time is there. It's hard to get them out a lot during season with sports and everything.

60 acres and 5 deer is over kill IMO...how many have your neighbors killed ? Deer travel a heck of a lot more than just 60 acres....The deer in and around the Nat. Lake Shore and the State Park WILL NOT repopulate an area 5-7 miles away from there. Not even 3 miles outside their boundries.....this is a proven fact....Deer vehicle collisions are down state wide by 10-12 %(another indicator)and have been dropping for several years....... Not as many show up in the papers either....very few this year in the Chesterton Tribune....There is way more land hunted around N. Porter County than you think....Numbers dont lie....even though the antlerless kill is up(cause of crossbows and antlerless tags/urban zone)the buck kill is down....and that means a declining herd....down 120 bucks from 2010 to 2012...that is quite a few bucks in this county...we dont have a lot of habitat as the southern counties have. Esp. North of US 30....The Nat. Park and State park notwithstanding...

For the guys that have had deer, will likely always have deer, and see no problems. So, if it doesn't affect them, then its not a big deal, For the guys that hunt areas where deer numbers were marginal at best, they are probably taking a beating now. I've seen it for 10 years where I hunt.
I know its difficult Ito mange less than a county, especially when 1/2 of a county has tons of pressure, and no deer, but yet farmers are getting depredation permits on the north 1/2 of the county, because the 4 or 5 deer in their patch woods have caused $500.00 worth of damage.

Its all an easy fix, just by reducing the number of permits. Hopefully, that will happen after the numbers come in. But, one thing I agree with Dew on, is you better go to some one higher than the DNR if you have serious concerns. And, you better do it now, because the # of permits that they will allow for next year will already be decided BEFORE we as hunters get to see the harvest numbers.

Nothing short of going to an "A" county, or even a "0" for a year will help the deer in Rush County. And THAT will never happen. Sad when I brought my 22 year old son up deer hunting, and he hasn't been in 6 years. I can't blame him, for not wanting to sit for countless hours and not see a deer. If I wasn't so hard headed, I'd quit a long time ago too!

well john, its not. without looking at numbers try to use common sense. do you really think a deer herd can sustain its numbers with the regs we have? our herd is and will continue to be on the decline. fortunately, you are now in the minority. unfortunately, its going to take awhile..if ever for this to turn around.

I was shocked, but my records show that I actually saw twice as many deer this year in Putnam County as I did last year. Very strange.

I did see way more does than last year, but my mature buck sightings were way down.

I do believe we are killing too many does overall in Indiana.

How can u manage without looking at the numbers? Data is imperative. And the numbers over the past several years indicate more deer. Admittedly, harvest numbers aren't the best data but they are the best we have.

Also, keep in mind that a herd reduction is the current goal in most areas.

The numbers dont indicate "more deer", they only indicate more being killed due to more tags and new seasons and weapons....Our deer killing weapons are more efficient now ....just look at what is out there to kill a deer ..... ... as you kill more Does, you kill more bucks(the 1:1 doe/buck ratio born thing) as there is less being born and less being recruited into the existing herd(or whats left of it)........

The Good news is Deer can Rebound very quickly if needed

My neighbors r the ones that own the 60 acres. Doesn't matter if u think it's to many or not. I simply disagree with your statement that u can drive around and not see any deer in the fields and that we don't have any deer. I disagree with u based on what I see everyday from my car window, my kitchen window and my neighbors success and observations on their land. As well as my on success on land in the area and other peoples success on harvesting deer. If in fact the deer numbers r down(certainly not to the level you claim) I'm kind of glad because I've hit two, or I should say I've had two run into the side of my car. Many more have come close. I routinely see deer hit and rotting on side of road. It's not the deer's fault and I'm not saying it's right but this county is no longer a rural area it's a suburb. I don't like it but that's what it is. If the DNR along with input from all the stakeholders have agreed to an acceptable number that benefits all parties (which is what I believe they have done) then it's a solid plan.

I don't believe harvest numbers are the best indicator. I believe tons of guys never check them in now since you can simply write your on tag to transport a deer home... which is fine with me. But I think managing it ourselves by not shooting if the deer seen is down in our given area or maybe going by reports of numbers of deer seen? I don't know. But I do believe what makes our surrounding states better is that they as a rule, aren't shooting every thing they see like we are. They've "grown up" a little and are a little more selective.

Countryboy...I call BS on much of what you say, there will be some roadkills for sure.... maybe your lucky enough to have a little honey hole, good for you, but kill off enough Does and you see your overall numbers plummet ....there is no doubting the fact that numbers of deer are falling.... and that is a fact and our head biologist even admits it...the problem lays is just how much does the DNR want the herd to dwindle > where is the cut off ? I'm a conservationist...not an executioner ..... If I'm back on the property that Ive leased for 17 years come 2014...Does are off limits until I start seeing an increase in numbers....a buddy of mine has done the same thing just down the road.......if I dont get the property back, you guys can kill 'em all, I wont care 'cause I'll have a bigger and better lease where there are deer and I can once again control what gets killed....I sick of neighbors killing everything that moves....never could stand the "if it's brown it's down" crowd .....

Not sure what your calling BS on but I know what I see everyday driving home. I stated that the numbers were probably down some BUT not to the level u stated which was can't even see a deer in the field. Isn't the point to reduce the numbers to an acceptable level so that everyone involved is satisfied? Not everyone wants 100's of deer around. Hunters aren't the only ones with a say in this. Farmers, drivers and yes insurance companies, like it or not, have a stake in this situation.

The cut off is whatever all the stakeholders have agreed to. No where did I say anything about being an "executioner" I'm truly happy u r a "conservationist" try not to be a "ethnocentric".

We certainly are not killing em all but making the statement that when "I leave u can kill em all cause I will be on a bigger and better lease" doesn't show the values of a conservationist. Like I said I simply do not agree with your statement about the numbers of deer in this area. I'm not attacking you just saying I don't agree. If I was going to attack you I would say something like, I'm tired of people that live in Chesterton coming to Jackson Township and leasing up land! Lol it was a joke Jeff!

Your money, your tag, kill what you want! h.h.

+1...

No truer words have been spoken....

I have heard from a source that there has been 5 doe not checked in at all in warren. County bye one man these #s are never a counted for I really wish I knew the person that has do e this he would be turned in but not knowing the particular person I. Can't this does not help the situation none at all

I'm not going to get into a pissin' match... The deer numbers are down.....buck kills are way down so guys will now kill more Does and drop the herd even further and the DNR is still going to issue the amount of tags they are now, hunters need to realize what they are doing also impacts their neighbors....

Throbak, not quick enough....5 years is a loooong time deer hunting wise to wait for a rebound....IF they can....if the pressure stays on 'em year after year, they may not get a chance...Just look at Jasper/Pulaski and Kingsbury...their numbers have plummeted ....and they can and do use the late season gun antlerless
on those areas, they can use 1 bonus tag per hunter there...

I wasn't going to hunt any more but a friend called me last night and ask me if I could kill him a doe. Normally I wont kill deer for another hunter but he is in bad shape health wise.

The only deer I took was on the 4th day of gun season I shot a doe that someone had shot her right front leg off just above the knee. I figured the yotes would get her, so bang! My hunting partner shot a buck we both were after, scored in the mid 150's.

I see 10-15 deer a sit with a lot of small bucks, basket rack 8's. Ive got two piebald doe. One is this years off-spring and the other will be 7 next year. She stays on the south side of my property most of the time.

I'm thinking next year I will take the 7 year old piebald doe and maybe have a full body mount made.

DNR can and does control the herd size by antlerless permits and hunters participation. Bottom line is hunt how you want, I do. h.h.

PS, Good Luck to all of you special anterless season hunters!

Chad Stewart, the DNR’s deer management biologist

I forgot about this article: http://www.eregulations.com/indiana/hunting/county-bonus-anterless-deer-quotas/

Good article....Thanks for posting it.

It's obvious that the state wants the herd reduced and the new regs/seasons are a part of the plan to reach those goals.

It will be interesting to see how it all pans out over the next few seasons.

You can't be serious.... You want the same dumb***** who would pass a bill allowing deer farms to manage our herd just because you don't like the current rules? Prop 1 is just as stupid as what you just said... Hunters spoke that they didn't want Prop 1 so accept it will you....

You don't have to shorten/change seasons, you have to change hunters mentality on deer... Let em go and they will grow...

Pretty easy concept to grasp...

Let them go and they will grow! marvelous concept! PASS IT ON!

Been trying to do that for years...until some brown and down clown kills 'em off ....

Pretty sad situation. I've got 140 acres of awesome habitat, cover and food plots. Ought to have 30 or more deer in these plots every evening right now, but there are only a few using them. It's by far the best food and cover in the neighborhood, but the deer just aren't here. I can provide habitat and protect a few, but soon as they step off the property, one of the neighbors whacks them regardless of size.

Reducing bag limits, dropping the late doe firearms season, and shortening the firearms and muzzle loader seasons would do wonders. With (45) days of firearms hunting, these deer don't get a break.

Steiny: When I talked to the guys at Rance's processing at Lake Cicott this year, they said they were told by CO's that there was a lot of EHD up there this year. Did you get hit by that?

Boys I have been whining about my low deer sightings for years but everyone just thinks i am a big tit bag. I have said it many times before, I spend more hours in a deer stand every season than most even care too and i only see a handful of deer. Now I hear the same stuff from a bunch of others. Sad situation but all the state cares about is the revenue deer tags produce. Welcome to my deer hunting world.

I'm with you guys! I work harder than most to improve our farm for wildlife and deer. Spent hours working, and $1000's to not kill a deer, and have neighbors reap the benefits. I'm over it. They are all singing the blues this year though, Only a couple of them have killed a deer in the 4 square mile block. They think I have them all "hiding" on our place. :rolleyes: